News and views on the UK's Green Parties

The Green Party of England and Wales are holding their biennial conference in Harrogate this week. In between the impassioned speeches, intense policy debates and embarrassing social events, many thumbs get tapped into smart phones to spread the word on Twitter. We’re collating the very best tweets of conference. Here’s our pick from day three:

Green Party Co-Leader Jonathan Bartley has laid into the Conservatives in a keynote speech at the Party’s conference in Harrogate today. Slamming Government policy on everything from migration to the arms industry and from Brexit to climate change, Bartley labelled the Conservative Party as having “rot at its core”. Continue reading →

The Green Party of England and Wales are holding their biennial conference in Harrogate this week. In between the impassioned speeches, intense policy debates and embarrassing social events, many thumbs get tapped into smart phones to spread the word on Twitter. We’re collating the very best tweets of conference. Here’s our pick from day two:

1. This tweet showing Keith Taylor MEP skiving conference debates to support a local anti-fracking camp.

Over the next three days, the Green Party of England and Wales are holding their biennial conference in Harrogate. In between the impassioned speeches, intense policy debates and embarrassing social events, many thumbs get tapped into smart phones, to spread the word on Twitter. We’re collating the very best tweets of conference. Here’s our pick from day one: Continue reading →

The Green Party has responded to the Government Equalities Office’s (GEO) announcement of a review of the Gender Recognition Act, calling for an overhaul of the legislation and the enshrining of new trans rights.

Responding to the announcement, Challenor said:

“The Green Party has long maintained the Gender Recognition Act discriminates against some trans people and a review is well overdue. This is a welcome move from the GEO when LGBTIQA+ rights are under unprecedented threat around the world, but we need to make sure the review brings to light the significant flaws in the act and leads to real change.

“We need an overhaul of trans rights in the act in order for it to be fit for purpose. In particular, trans youth and non-binary people need to be able to obtain legal gender recognition. It’s also crucial we remove the medicalisation of the process.”

The current Gender Recognition Act, passed in 2004, requires a person to be diagnosed with gender dysphoria in order to change their gender in the eyes of the law.

Existing Green Party policy calls for a number of changes to the legal framework for trans people and gender recognition, including supporting legal recognition of non-binary people and trans youth, the ability for intersex people to alter their birth certificates and the abolition of the spousal veto for married trans people on legal recognition of their gender.

The Greens also support a widespread campaign against transphobia, including through public education programs in schools.

Prominent Green Party figures and politicians have this weekend been participating in and sending solidarity to Trans Pride celebrations in Brighton & Hove. Trans Pride is celebrating it’s fifth birthday this year, and organisers have estimated more than 2,500 people took part in the flagship march.

Green Party Co-Leader Caroline Lucas tweeted her support to the event, following a solidarity message from Green MEP Keith Taylor:

Other Green Party figures were present at yesterday’s events, including Convenor of the Green Group on Brighton & Hove City Council, Phelim Mac Cafferty and the Green Party’s LGBTIQA+ spokesperson Aimee Challenor (both pictured above).

Trans Pride is a charity based in Brighton & Hove run by volunteers, which organisers a series of events in pursuit of trans liberation, as well as the annual Trans Pride protest march. Protesters braved braving the rain, and throughout the rest of the day were addressed by speakers, poets and musicians.